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Missions and Programs

Lunar Orbiter Program

Robotic Lunar Exploration Missions

A NASA program of five robotic spacecraft launched in 1966 and 1967 to photograph the Moon from orbit in support of Apollo landing-site selection. All five missions succeeded, together mapping 99 percent of the lunar surface and returning the first photographs taken from lunar orbit, including early images of Earth as seen from the Moon.

Facts
Mission Type
Robotic lunar mapping program 1
Launch Date
1966-08-10 1
Date of Lunar Orbiter 1, the program's first mission.
End Date
1967-08-01 1
Date of Lunar Orbiter 5, the program's final mission.
Outcome
Successful; all five missions completed their objectives, and the spacecraft were deliberately crashed into the Moon afterward to avoid interfering with later missions' radio tracking. 1
Connections

Operated By

NASA, Space Agencies and Companies
Source Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Wikipedia: Lunar Orbiter program, lead section
    The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five uncrewed Moon-orbiting missions launched by the United States in 1966 and 1967.
  • Wikipedia: Lunar Orbiter program, mission list
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